suitable age for help from clinical pyschologist

HI all,

 It is very kind and thoughtful of you to provide me with your experience.

 I will re read over the next couple of days and  let it sink in. I might have other questions about this topic. So thank you

 warmest regards

Light: Halogen mimics the sun. LEDs give off an unnatural spectrum. LEDs are good for safety lighting, for little lights on electronics, for torches or inside Rock Salt lamps which diminish their harsh intensity and rapid flickering - it’s irritating light. If you are not dulled to it, you will feel assaulted by it’s shutting on/off rapidly like someone poking at you all day. It’s not as noticeable with daylight. It is painful at night. CFLs are even worse. 

LightAware.org can offer UK residents a light sensitivity card. At night, a few halogen lamps will give off a much wider spectrum of light than a WHOLE house of LEDs which can have too much UV, a massive spike at Green Light and no Infrared (IR). We use IR light for clarity/contrast. If you do not have a natural light source and everything becomes blurry, a lack of IR light could be the issue. LEDs do not produce IR light. Filament (found in Halogen), fire and sunlight does.

It’s important to note that France has discovered LEDs will permanently damage an infants Retina. Thousands have been petitioning against the use of these on the road at night, the narrow band of the light is like a laser beam, if you look directly into it, it will cause harm. 

See below for an idea of a few bulbs to buy. As mentioned, Rock Lamps are good for LEDs. 

Smell: Another thing to be aware of are Essential oils vs chemical fragrance. I use non-scented cleaning products. Cheap and Cheery ones like Baking soda, vinegar, Hydrogen peroxide and activated charcoal for cleaning work perfectly. Tea Tree oil and other essential oils like citrus are naturally anti-bacterial and do not use chemicals which have biological repercussions. Doctor Bronners is actually a great brand for all-purpose cleaning. It could be good to have a look at Air Quality in your area and do a little research on residential VOCs: Volatile Organic Compounds. We can have allergic reactions to formaldehyde and cheap chemically scented candles actually create formaldehyde when burned. I don’t know how these are legal tbh.

Touch: Natural fibres vs. Clothing made from petroleum by-products. Wool and silk work symbiotically with human skin to naturally regulate body temperature. Cotton is the most breathable and excellent for sleeping. Tree fabrics are naturally cooling, so better for summer only. Polyester, Nylon and other fibres made from Oil are essentially like wearing tar or plastic. The skin cannot breath in them and the body might sweat, worse yet, it may be cold. Autistic individuals sense this far more than Non, but children won’t understand why. Marino Wool base layers can be expensive, but you only need 2 tops and 2 bottoms. They are naturally anti-bacterial and self-cleaning (though I pop mine in a cold wash once per week). But as the wool industry states, you could wear them for a month before washing and they’ll self clean. They are far better for the environment in the long-run.

Sound: The frequency and decibels we are exposed to, these are not what they were even 20 years ago. I rarely go to the Theatre anymore and I won’t leave home with out ear plugs. Sirens and alarms are louder and at frequencies which can cause deafness. Train announcements are louder because people are listening at volumes incompatible with human hearing and then complaining about not hearing the announcement. 

The list goes on: 

Feeling includes emotional intensity, the compounded frustrations with sensing a thing and having trouble finding the language to identify it. The Power centre. Autistics are not triggered by domination/hierarchy the way that Non-autistics are. We can be intently excited and experience a rush over Analytical thought and epiphany. Geo-thermal, Geo-magnetic. We can sense changes in the weather, some are in tune with an innate sense of navigation. Balance and Focus point - we can sense visual aesthetics. Taste. We can have more explosive palettes. Teach us to identify different chocolate and regions. This list is not exhaustive. 

Our taste buds and olfactory system are directly connected to our gut. We can be far more sensitive to Volatile Organic Compounds and feel nauseous or suddenly become ill. We can be more sensitive to the effects of chemical pollution and become dizzy or have trouble breathing. These are not psychological. There are particles invisible to the naked eye which can be seen under a microscope and identified. But many of us have gut-health issues and food sensitivity. I am personally allergic to grains, brassicas and legumes, or more current horticulture. This is not a coincidence. If I need help remembering what to eat I start with a FODMAP diet and add what doesn’t cause problems. Sometimes I think I was meant for the wild. :)

So! when we’re no longer battling Extra sensory non-human friendly issues, we can focus on learning how to communicate in a chaotic world which we’d appreciate if it was more reliable and orderly. 

REMEMBER 

Autistic Individuals FEEL their senses far more intensely than Non-Autstics. Senses include Interoceptions and External gauges. If too much information is arriving all at once (smell, noise, language) It is like overloading a computer with too many software programmes. Therefore it is incredibly important we not only are allowed time and space to learn to use these senses to help identify what we’re receiving, it is also then important we have rules or mechanisms to shield an overwhelming amount of input. We are better designed for Hyper-Focused tasks and better allowed to complete each task even if it is simply walking down a flight of stairs. 

Here is a short list of senses: 

Kinetic Physiology 

Touch

Balance

Sound

Rhythm

Light

Shape / Geometric aesthetic

Gut

Smell

Emotional Intensity

Imagination

Geo/Thermal

Geo/Magnetic

If you’re worried about staying Green, remember, LEDs use rare earth minerals. They aren’t sustainable. A small halogen bulb which fits into an adaptor and cover can be used ad infinitum. Bell Electric used to make these & you could screw them together. 

Adaptor: www.mr-resistor.co.uk/halogen-g9-adaptors-and-covers-range

Cover: commercial-lamps.co.uk/.../

Halogen G9 Adaptors

The new Halogen Saver TWIST from BELL has been specially designed to create a fixture that replaces traditional light bulbs with a halogen saving alternative. At the end of life simply unscrew the adaptor cover and replace the G9 capsule inside.

Available with either 18w, 28w or 42w bulb.

• Last 3 times longer than traditional bulb
• Fully dimmable
• 30-40% Energy Saving
• Reduces carbon footprint and landfill waste with 75% less material for disposal

What you are asking her regarding noise and sensory issues, is to explain laws of physics, acoustics or biological interaction with chemicals or unnatural elements. She's 10. I'll follow up with a list that will help give you a guide to sensory issues we are In-tune with that NeuroNormative Society has learned to block out or create defence mechanisms mentally against.

Jaques Lacan (Psychoanalyst from mid-1900s) would have been one to point out that due to how the Autistic brain is wired, it doesn't use language the same, so it is not using language to re-code (computer speak) the brain to shut out harsh and possibly dangerous signals / elements. Where as, non-autistic individuals are using this more Asymmetrically wired brain which is heavily focused on Semiotics and Language, therefore, dulling their senses. There's other things potentially happening in the Autistic brain we are only just now discovering which make it impossible to dull our senses. You could buy a collexion of hard wired tools to read decibels and frequencies, buy a spectrometer and/or readers for chemicals and VOCs. Or potentially just ask your daughter. From what I understand one can learn to undo their defence mechanisms over time and become more sensitive with training (like meditation).

The thing about therapy is it can help us learn to navigate communication by first, Respecting the other even if they don't understand themselves. Then give us tools an resources to draw from in order to better interact. I think these are positive elements. The first therapist I went to for a minute was able to identify time management struggles. The second was able to identify that I couldn't identify my emotions. Each one I've gone to have helped identify something I didn't have the language for. 

An even better situation here would be to find an Autistic Therapist who could also identify with you're daughter. This woman's blog is great: www.instagram.com/.../

My son at 14 cannot usually say what is causing his anxiety. He struggles to go to school but mostly doesn't know why.

We can ask questions about things that might happen or have happened and guess but it is not straight forward. We spoke to SENCO before he started secondary school with suggestions. Many suggestions to help are rejected by him. He particularly doesn't want to stand out amongst his peers. He also does not like to tell peers he has ASD so it is just school staff that ate aware.

The support is ongoing with us keeping in touch by email with school as we constantly work with them trying to assist with support.

Regarding help he has spoken to CAMHS doctor who discussed his anxiety with him and encouraged him to take help offered. It was a helpful discussion but did not seem to make much difference with his anxiety of attending school. However he is not high functioning.

Give the following book a go for just under £20:

Or it's free PDF for those who need to know by way of the following link:

http://www.autismforthvalley.co.uk/files/5314/4595/7798/Attwood-Tony-The-Complete-Guide-to-Aspergers-Syndrome.pdf

If the psychologist has experience with working with children, then yes of course they can help her with anxiety, and can explore some of her feelings.

Putting anyone into a clinical therapy setting can be more damaging than good, you obviously have good intentions, and are definitely not doing it with any malicious intentions and it is clear that you want to understand a lot more about your daughter, which is understandable.

You have known her for 10 years, so in that time, is there anything you have noticed that sets her off into a meltdown or shutdown?

I don't think a clinical therapist is going to be able to allay any of the concerns she has.

Have you considered speaking to the Secondary/High School and asking if it is possible to get a meeting with the aim to see if it is possible for your daughter maybe to have a taster day or a tour of the school with the teaching staff that she is likely to encounter in her first year and what they can provide to her when she needs to get away from it all?

Also, does she have a diary or journal? If not, it might be a good idea, so she can express herself in writing, I find it easier to write what I am wanting to say instead of conveying it in words.